Sunday 5 September 2010

Warm and hearty lentils and lettuce soup


How many times have you felt so tired but still wanted to relish some comforting, easy-to-make, warm dinner? Well... these days it happens to us a lot... That too on weekends after a day's outing, putting the baby to sleep and then... the last thing I want to do is to stand in the kitchen for an hour to roll out rotis... This soup is perfect for such times. 

I would rather not serve it as a starter because I think this is so filling and satisfying that there would be no chance for the main meals. This is a complete meal in itself. With the warmth of the red lentils, I added half a head of iceberg lettuce, I was quite surprised by the taste it brought out. 

The croutons (they were so big that they covered the whole soup bowl.. the soup rather looks like a crouton soup) were store-bought but still they were baked not fried. A sprinkle of half fat mozzarella (if you like) or parmesan would be an added burst of flavour. These red lentils are so easy to cook and they take only 10 minutes or so to get well cooked.




This is how I made the soup:

Ingredients

Red Lentils - 1 cup (serves 2)
Iceberg Lettuce - half a head
Onions - 1 medium
Garlic - 3 cloves
Vegetable Stock - Optional (you could use water)
Tomato - 1 (if you are using a puree then add just 2 tsp)
Salt and pepper 
Croutons
Mozzarella or Parmesan

Easy-Peasy method

Heat up some olive oil in a deep pan and saute the onions and garlic until they are cooked.
Add the tomatoes and give it a stir for 2 minutes.
Wash and add the lentils.
Add vegetable stock or water and bring it up to a boil.
After 10 minutes check the lentils and add the lettuce leaves and turn off the heat. 
After 2 minutes, with a hand blender or in a mixie, blend everything together. 
Serve in big bowls with croutons and cheese if you like. 
Dont forget the freshly ground black pepper... 

Slurp... Enjoy a healthy dinner/lunch.. :)

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